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Dwyane Wade Finally Explains Why He Didn't Sign With LeBron James and the Cavs

When Dwyane Wade became a free agent over the summer, there was a lot of speculation about him potentially taking his talents to Cleveland to play alongside his friend and former teammate LeBron James on the Cavaliers. Yes, he would have had to take a huge payout to do it—he would have had to sign a deal worth just $3.48 million per season, which is far less than the $47 million deal he eventually accepted from the Bulls—and yes, he would have had to become more of a role player than he’s been in the past. But signing with the Cavaliers would have given Wade a great opportunity to add a fourth ring to his collection.

Wade ultimately decided that Cleveland wasn’t the place for him, though, and while he hasn’t really spoken up much about the rumors connecting him to the Cavaliers, he talked briefly about the idea of him signing with the team during a recent interview with SLAM. Wade acknowledged that he did consider signing with LeBron & Co. despite the huge paycut that he would have had to take, but he chose not to do it because, well, he’s got enough rings and doesn’t think he needs to chase another one.

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"I thought about Cleveland," he told SLAM, "but I didn’t fit there. You don’t just do something because, Oh, I could win the ring there. I have three rings. I don’t need to chase the ring. This is what I wanted to do. I couldn’t fight it. If you fight it, you’re gonna always be like, You shoulda, or what could’ve—I don’t like to live my life like that."

A photo posted by dwyanewade (@dwyanewade) on Oct 3, 2016 at 8:58pm PDT

It’s hard to blame Wade for not going to Cleveland. He stands to make significantly more money in Chicago, and he’ll get to play in front of his hometown fans. But it’s interesting to hear that, at least for a short period of time, he did entertain the thought of reuniting with LeBron.